. >> how likely is is it that assad will give that order? >> the government was forced to close the airport because of fighting near, it took down the entire internet. his country is no longer just beleaguered, it is besieged. he can last a while longer but he is in trouble. if he uses chemical weapons, that is a point at which the international community will no longer sit at a distance in dealing with this regime. i think he may know that. weighing the alternatives, it may be an instrument he might think will keep him in power but it could provoke and accelerate his denies. >> would the russians abandon him? >> the russian position in supporting the assad regime and calling for some sort of negotiations with the administration that would keep assad around have been his mainstay and the russian position appears to be fluctuating a little, the fact that vladimir putin has been talking to the president of turkey, the prime minister of turkey, about how they can find some outcome and not see the endless bloodshed that has cost 40,000 lives so